


The Waldorf Spell

by daretodair



Category: Gossip Girl
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-11-05 19:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11019825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daretodair/pseuds/daretodair
Summary: Dan being Gossip Girl never made sense, but it took Blair years to figure it out. Now she's ready to reconcile but Dan isn't interested.





	1. Chapter 1

“It wasn’t you,” she said as he opened the door, barging straight past him and into the loft that had barely changed after all this time.

 

“Make yourself at home, Mrs Bass,” came Dan’s dry reply, a terrible attempt at an insult or feigned ignorance since her divorce had been highly publicized. If he was looking for a reaction he didn’t get one, Blair instead continuing on with the original purpose of her visit.

 

“You’re not Gossip Girl.”

 

“Not anymore.”

 

“No, never. I figured it out.” She hadn’t cared that the pieces didn’t fit at first, too furious at the apparent betrayal by the person who had become her best friend to investigate further, but as her marriage had gradually decayed and she’d turned to the now well-worn pages of _Inside_ to remind herself how it felt to be _really_ loved, the hurt had been replaced by confusion. How could someone who had written a real love letter, both in his first novel and in her vows for her first wedding, consider the writings on Gossip Girl a love letter to Serena? While once she would have put it down to Humphrey having no idea what real romance was ( _That’s probably just how they do it in Brooklyn. So uncivilized_ ), she’d experienced it for herself. While Chuck may have been an expert at grand gestures involving money, when she thought back on all the most romantic moments of her life most of them involved the things Dan had done for her without her even knowing she’d needed or wanted them. It didn’t add up.

 

“And I forgive you for pretending you betrayed me.”

 

“You forgive--,” he cut himself off, taking a deep breath to calm down. There was no point arguing that she was the one who should apologise for cutting him out of her life so easily. For dropping him as soon as Chuck was ready for her. Getting over Blair had been harder than his divorce with Serena, he couldn’t let himself get dragged back into that.

 

“Okay, great. Bye.”

 

If only it was that easy. “Why?” Blair asked. “I know you were covering for Jenny, but why? She was out of the city, owning up to it wouldn’t have changed anything for her.”

 

“It doesn’t matter, Blair.”

 

“Not to you maybe, you still got everything you wanted. Serena somehow agreed that it was romantic and you got your happy ending. I’m the one you hurt. I’m the one who lost their best friend. I’m the one you stopped loving.”

 

“And you never loved me,” Dan spat, hating himself for letting her get to him that easily. “You’d already chosen Chuck. You didn’t even doubt that I could do something that horrible to you for a second. You and Serena, you forgive each other for everything but I was your best friend too. I was there for you when she wasn’t, but you didn’t even give me the benefit of the doubt before shutting me out of your life.” They’d never been able to avoid each other, both important parts of both Serena and Nate’s lives, but Blair had never as little as glanced in his direction since that day.   

 

“And now I’m apologizing.”

 

“You didn’t apologize!” he pointed out, involuntarily raising his voice. “You stormed in here and told me I was forgiven. You never apologized.”

 

“And now I am.” He looked at her incredulously. Of course she thought that counted as an apology. Blair Waldorf rarely apologized, she would think the minimal effort was enough to make up for years of hurt.

 

“Then I don’t accept your apology. Get out.”

 

“Humph-”

 

“-OUT.”

 

*** 

 

The next few weeks were filled with gifts. First editions of his favourite books that would have cost her a small fortune. Tickets to sold out shows that he’d been dying to see. Invitations to exclusive exhibition showings. A box of her favourite chocolates because she still believed her taste in chocolate was better than whatever Weird Organic Brooklyn Hipster Crap he ate (the card said exactly that). All were promptly returned.

 

She couldn’t let it go. It was because she hated unsolved mysteries, she told herself, and why he had covered for Jenny was a puzzle she couldn’t figure out. It wasn’t because travelling to Brooklyn had still felt familiar and weirdly comfortable after all these years. It wasn’t because she’d felt safer even with Dan yelling at her than she ever had with Chuck. It wasn’t because arguing with him reminded her of the intellectually stimulating arguments they’d had so many times before and that she’d never been able to replicate with anyone else. It wasn’t because at one point she’d glimpsed a shadow of the look he used to give her when he did love her and that had made her stomach do things she hadn’t felt in years. It was all just curiosity.

 

Her copy of _Inside_ arrived next. First edition, the one he’d given to her when it had originally come out. The one she didn’t even read for months despite claiming to be supportive of his career. It had clearly been read now; the overused spine and dog-earred pages meant the book involuntarily opened to the most well-read pages.

 

“ _Humphrey,”_

 

Her note perfectly penned into the cover of the book read,

 

“ _You loved me for me when I thought I was undeserving of love. I realized it too late, but you taught me what real love is. You might never forgive me but I will be forever thankful for that. Your words gave me the courage to fight for myself and my happiness. If you return this as you have all my other gifts, I will take that as you giving me back the words that mean the most to me because some part of you still cares. If you keep it to spite me, I’d first like to remind you that I can easily buy another copy, but I’ll take it to mean that you didn’t want to dispose of my note and that you forgive me. I trust you care about literature too much to throw out or burn this, especially since it’s your own work. Your move._

  _B._ _C. Waldorf.”_

 

He almost did burn it but she was right; he couldn’t do that to his own book. So it sat on his kitchen benchtop for a week, mocking him for not knowing what to do. He should have known Blair would find a way to make this a win-win situation for herself, forcing forgiveness onto him even when he didn’t want to give it.

 

He wasn’t going to take it.

 

“I don’t want your stupid book,” he burst out as soon as her penthouse door opened, poor old New Dorota cowering in confusion as Dan realised it wasn’t even Blair behind the door.

 

“Humphrey,” she smiled as she swanned down the stairs, “I knew this would get you to come to me.”

 

She’d won again and he hated her for it. Even more he hated that he admired her for it. She’d always been dangerously clever, it was one of the things he’d grown to love about her. But he didn’t love her anymore, he reminded himself, ignoring the voice in his head pointing out that he shouldn’t have needed a reminder.

 

Wordlessly, he turned to leave.

 

“If you go you’re choosing the keeping the book option,” she sing-songed smugly.

 

“What the fuck do you want Blair?” he pivoted back around.

 

“An explanation.”

 

“Is everything you wrote in here a lie then?” He waved the book around. “Manipulative words to get me where you want me, not an ounce of truth?”

 

That gave her pause. It had surprised her how easily those words had flown when she’d written them. Thoughts she’d pushed aside spilling out as she convinced herself it was just part of the ploy. She’d always been even better at lying to herself than she had been at lying to others.

 

She was at the bottom of the stairs now, a few more steps and she was close enough to touch. But he didn’t.

 

“I don’t know,” her answer was breathy and unsure and not at all satisfying.

 

Silence. Her eyes darting around his face, desperately trying to read him, hoping to catch that look again, gaze always ending up back at his lips despite herself.  

 

“Why do you need an explanation?” he tried instead. That she could answer.

 

“Because you threw everything we had away. You were my _best friend_.”

 

Dan scoffed. “You’d already thrown everything we had away by choosing him. After everything he’d done to you, after he treated you like shit, you still could only love him and not me.”

 

“Thought I deserved his love and not yours,” Blair mumbled, unable to meet Dan’s eyes. Her vulnerability was familiar to him and he had to fight with himself not to reach for her. To tell her how much she deserved to be loved, unconditionally. “But I still needed my friend, Humphrey.” She looked at him again, hand reaching out to take the hand that wasn’t holding the book and finally bridge the distance between them.

 

His hand recoiled at her touch, digging itself deep into his pocket where she couldn’t reach it. “I couldn’t be your friend, Blair. I was so --,” his hand freed itself to find its way into his hair, then rubbed down his face in frustration. It had been years. How could she still make him feel this way? “I can’t be just friends with someone I’m in love with.”

 

She stepped closer again, her perfume filling his nose and his hairs standing on end with just the anticipation of her body brushing against his. “Can we be friends now?” Doe-eyed and voice seductively low. She knew what he was doing and he knew what she was doing. A yes meant accepting her non-apology, but a no? A no she would take as him still being in love with her. They were dangerously close, he could almost feel her heart beating. Or was that his own heart?

 

He reached forward, pushing the book into her chest. “I loved you then, I’d never want to take these words away from you. But things are different now.” Even if, standing there, things felt exactly how they had all those years ago. With the book back in her hands he stepped backwards, fumbling for the door handle and exiting while he still had some self control. But he knew it was too late; he was back under the Waldorf Spell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to let you know that I am continuing and haven't forgotten about this story. Thank you all for your kudos and comments.

As much as Dan told himself he _didn't_ want to hear from Blair, the fact he hadn't was worrying. She'd said she wanted to know why he had taken the fall for Jenny, and Blair wasn't the type to give up without an answer. He'd found himself checking his mailbox multiple times a day, and looking over his shoulder whenever he was out in case she'd somehow plotted something dangerous. Not a peep.

The reason, it turned out, was Blair had remembered that Serena was throwing a charity event (For sick children? Endangered elephants? She threw so many events that he could no longer keep up with where his money for the over-priced ticket was going) and that they would both be there. 

It wasn't until the reminder texts from Serena, Nate and even his father that he realised this. 

He found himself putting on his best suit and tie but leaving his hair wild and curly - that had always driven her crazy. 'Humphrey,' she'd said once, her voice laced with venom, 'If I wanted a poodle I would buy a purebred show dog.' Her hands had sunk into his hair as she spoke, fingers buried into his curls as she kissed him, undercutting her insult.

Despite his mess of hair (even Nate had asked him if he'd run out of time to finish getting ready), Blair didn't so much as glance at him for half the night. Until she caught his eye as she exited the main hall with a glass of champagne in hand.

"I didn't realise your career was doing so badly that you couldn't afford a hairdresser," she greeted him when he found her sitting on a lounge in a small side room. He was more surprised than she that he'd followed her there. 

"You stopped sending me things," he blurted out, already a few drinks into his night.

"You sent everything back. I have better things to do with my time than send you gifts." Dan snorted. They both knew Blair hadn't done any of the work to have those gifts delivered.

"So, I win then?" he questioned, voice filled with uncertainty. He hadn't even wanted to play but it was unlike Blair to give up that easily. Something wasn't adding up, and Blair's satisfied smile as she sipped her champagne only confirmed that.

"I went straight to the source." Dan opened his mouth to speak -- Jenny wouldn't have talked, she was the one who wanted to keep this secret -- but Blair cut him off. "Jenny's fashion line is doing reasonably well but imagine how much better she could be doing if I recommended her in the magazine." The unspoken threat was imagine how worse she would be doing if Blair badmouthed her in her widely-read and well respected fashion magazine. Blair may not have controlled the style of the Constance girls from the Met Steps anymore, but they continued to wear what she suggested without even realising it, and her reach now spread much further. She could ruin Jenny's career faster than the gossip girl scandal would have. "She told me everything."

He meant to make a comment about how that was all squared away now and they could get back to being not friends (But not _not_ friends either. That stupid paradox he'd gotten himself stuck in during their last conversation.) Instead he found himself saying "Why didn't you do that to start with? You knew it was her."

"I told you. I wanted an explanation. From you."

"Or did you want to see me?" He asked, cautious but (and he hated himself for it) hopeful, moving to sit next to her, his knee bumping against hers.

Blair was silent, and for a moment Dan thought he'd stumped her. Until he realised she was just draining her glass of champagne. "I should get back out there," she said, expertly dodging his question. "People will actually notice _my_ absence." Her hand rested on his leg as she pushed herself back up, champagne and heels making her slightly wobbly yet still elegant. His leg felt unnaturally cold when she removed her hand again, missing the contact immediately. 

She paused at the doorway, Dan not yet moved from his position at the couch. "The Film Forum is playing _It Happened One Night_ this Friday," Blair stated, exuding nonchalance despite the weight of what she was actually suggesting. He looked up from the spot on his leg he'd been staring at, waiting to see what she'd say next. Waiting for the clear invitation. Or at least the clear indication that she'd be attending this screening. Instead, with the smallest hint of a smile that he couldn't be sure he hadn't just imagined, she continued out the door and back to the room full of people.

**Author's Note:**

> There will likely be more parts to this at some stage, if people want more Dair!


End file.
